OFFICIAL BABYSITTER!

Yep! Connor turned 12 and according to the USAF, he's eligible to babysit legally here at home and for other children. I think that he will actually be a wonderful babysitter for Colton as his little baby brother adores him. We shall see......Here are some pictures of the night we celebrated at home as a family the event. He was most excited to receive a brand new cell phone which he laid out a strong argument for to his parents. Party pictures to follow in a separate post.

Catching Up!

Whew, it's been a busy couple of months here at the White house. When I look back at the pictures they are just snapshots of the kids doing things around the house or perhaps a shot of something I took thinking I'd post it on facebook or put it into the blog but just never got around to it. Being on the computer over the past few months for any longer than 5 minutes at a time during the day has been impossible. Colton is a GOOD climber. You can't leave a chair even slightly away from the table or he's up on the laptop banging away on the keys. I really have to watch him like a hawk. This is where having an incredibly small house helps! Colton has also become rather independent when it comes to eating. He wants to do it himself. Reminds me of Connor and the mess he makes is hysterical. You tell him he has something on his face and he thinks you're playing peek-a-boo!

Regardless, I thought I'd share at least some pictures of the kids through the rest of January. Colton continues to entertain us with everything he does from playing the piano to tyring to be just like his big brothers playing games.

Somehow, I don't believe him at the moment!

Jackson's 6th Birthday

Jackson celebrated his 6th birthday this year. It was a different kind of birthday for him, daddy was TDY! You would have thought the world was going to come to an end when he realized daddy wasn't going to be home on his birthday. As he can't read yet, I honestly considered switching up the calendar somehow but figured the calendar time at school would be a dead giveaway! So, to try to make the day a bit more special we had a special early morning birthday party, complete with candles in his cinnabon! He got to open all his presents as soon as he woke up rather than having to wait all day long until daddy got home.

At school he was the line leader and got to make a special crown to wear. He was so sweet when he showed me the stick bugs in his classroom. He is really proud that he is one of the only ones in his class gentle enough to touch them whenever he wants to.

His teacher has singing guinea pig dolls and he chose the cowboy one. It sings happy birthday in a twangy sort of way. Really funny and the kids really enjoyed it.

We had cupcakes with all his friends in the class before heading home.

We had his favorite meal of spaghetti pie for dinner, and he requested a chocolate kahlua vodka cake for dessert. So it was a good sugary birthday after all. And daddy arrived home from his trip to Montenegro with additional presents in his bag. What a spoiled little 6 year old he is! Still can't resist his sweet little smile.

The Little Man at 13 Months

Colton is 13 months old now and as busy as ever. He is a climber which is tough on mommy as I can't seem to keep him off of the furniture. In fact, there have been several days Jeff has come home to chairs upturned so that the baby won't climb them anymore.

He loves hats and if he sees one he wants to put it on. He likes to make faces at us. I think he likes the reaction he gets.

He loves his new clipo blocks and cars. He sits and makes all the car noises. He'll carry track around and bring it to me to make the car move on the track. I'm so amazed at how coordinated he is already both gross and small motor. He really concentrates hard on doing something until he can accomplish the task.

We've had several parties over the holiday season and he loves to play with the cans of coke. He'll carry them around and pretend to drink from them even though he doesn't have a clue how to open them.

His new favorite food is the clementine orange. He will sit and eat several in one sitting. And then he'll ask for more. His very favorite word is that, and he points directly at what he wants and says that. Hey plays hard and then sleeps even harder. I can't seem to always get him out of his chair in enough time to start his nap!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2010! I can't believe it's already 2010. When I was a little girl it seemed like it was SO FAR away and now here we are! We decided to have a party at the last minute, threw on a huge pot of stew and invited some of our friends who weren't traveling over the holiday. We had such a fun night. There was a heated golf tournament on the Wii and an even more heated Texas hold'em tournament. We seem to surround ourselves with folks who can cook and there was food, food, and more food along with the homemade sangria! Colton's favorite part of the evening was when mommy made homemade whipped cream for the tres leches cake, and he got to lick the spoon. Instead of watching the ball drop on Times Square, we watched the fireworks off the London Eye and the mobs of people in downtown London. We were thankful for not being among the throngs of people and realized how old we've all become. We are thankful for our family and friends and are looking forward to the adventures 2010 will bring for the White family.

Christmas

The most anticipated morning of the year at our house is Christmas morning. This year was an early year. Jackson was awake at 3 wanting to go downstairs to see if Santa had come. A grumpy mommy sent him back to bed but he was back at it by 6. We had a wonderful Christmas morning. The boys were so excited and grateful to receive many gifts they wanted. Jackson got his ripstik and Connor got his IPod touch. Colton loved the paper and boxes and didn't seem to care what was in them at first. He continued to be more interested in the clementines than the gifts! We did find out throughout the day that he really likes his new toys! Clipo blocks are a huge hit with him! Who knew? Daddy loved his pub stools and Colton and daddy had fun using them.

After the paper clean up, we made the boys clean up. I have to say they clean up well! Our littliest monkey was quite cheeky in his new Christmas duds picked out for him by his daddy.

Our plan was to spend Christmas dinner with friends and neighbors the Latimers. Monica did the turkey and the stuffing and I did the pies and sides. It worked out well and we had a great time. We all feel abundantly blessed this Christmas and are so thankful for wonderful family and friends.

Christmas Eve

At the White House, it isn't Christmas Eve until daddy says it is. After all the clean up from the party the kids still had to put out cookies and milk for Santa. Daddy took the pictures. I hope next year Colton will be able to help. Maybe he'll understand a bit of what is going on! Jackson is hoping Santa will bring him a ripstick and Connor is hoping for an IPod touch. We'll have to see what the morning brings! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!